Do you take a lot of photos with your smartphone, a compact camera or a system or SLR camera? Then of course you want to save those photos! Saving a copy of your photos online has many advantages. First of all, you can reach it anytime, anywhere, provided you have a (fast) internet connection. You also have an extra backup if something should go wrong with the local storage or original photos. We take a closer look at eight online storage services: where is the best place to store your photos?
You can use storage space in the cloud, or an online disk, for various things. For example as a low-threshold and flexible extension if there is not enough disk space in your own computer.
In this comparison, we look specifically at the storage for your photos. For example, you can place a selection of photos on that online drive that you want to be able to access from multiple devices and from any location, or use it for photos that you want to share with friends and / or customers. And an extra backup in addition to the backups you make at home on external disks is also a great idea. Because with a copy outside the door, the chance that you will ever lose your photos is very small. In short: there are many conceivable applications with the cloud services that we discuss below. Of course you can also immediately park all kinds of other types of files.
Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive software is standard on a Windows computer, otherwise you download it for free here. All files and folders that you want to store online, you put under the local user folder (or shortcut) OneDrive. You can simply copy them there, for example by dragging them from Windows Explorer. This works the same with other cloud services.
What is also possible is to use the OneDrive app, which you first install from the Microsoft Store where necessary. For a iOS– or Androidsmartphone or tablet is also a free app available. In short: you can easily access your online storage from any device. And that is of course also possible via a browser. Do you regularly use Office programs such as Word, Excel and Outlook? With a subscription to Office 365 you can use them on all your devices and you get a generous amount of online storage.
Microsoft OneDrive
Prices and options
OneDrive Basic: 5 GB free
OneDrive 100 GB: € 2 per month
OneDrive for companies: from € 4.20 per month (excl. VAT, from 1 TB per user)
Office 365 Home: € 99 per year (1 TB per user, maximum 6 users)
Office 365 Personal: € 69 per year (1 TB)
Website
https://onedrive.live.com
- Pros
- Seamlessly integrated with Windows
- Included with Office 365 plan
- Close integration with (own) office software
- Negatives
- No raw preview in web interface
- Somewhat confusing subscription structure
Google Drive
You can also access your photos anytime, anywhere and with a device of your choice with the Google storage service. Choose for on the website In person, you will receive no less than 15 GB of free storage. The paid version of this service is called Google One.
On the Google Drive website, click on the gear to go to the settings. Click on that Get Backup and Sync for Windows to retrieve software that displays your online storage as a local user folder on your own computer. In addition, you can designate local directories that are continuously backed up. You install the Google Drive app on your smartphone and tablet via the relevant app store.
You can view your photos on any platform, but you can only see the embedded preview of raw files. Depending on the camera model, it has a high or low resolution and high or low compression. That is separate from Google Drive, just like with other cloud services.
Google Drive
Some prices and options
15 GB free
100 GB: € 19.99 per year (or € 1.99 per month)
200 GB: € 29.99 per year (or € 2.99 per month)
Website
www.google.com/drive
- Pros
- Lots of free storage space
- Integration with (own) office software
- Continuous backup of local folders possible
- Negatives
- Paid versions not cheap
- Additional app (Google Photos) required for synchronizing smartphone photos
Dropbox
Dropbox is popular for both business and consumers to quickly and easily exchange files between devices or share them with others. Then it is so handy to also immediately store photos here. An app or program is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, smartphone and tablet, among others (iOS and Android).
As soon as you install the local client on your computer, you can access the online storage space via the user folder or shortcut Dropbox. Only if you set it this way, you can share folders or photos with others, which is also possible with the other cloud services. The app on your smartphone or tablet can automatically store new images that you create online if you indicate this. Ideal, because then you get all smartphone photos and videos automatically and without using a cable on your computer. Almost all cloud apps do this too.
Dropbox
Some prices and options
2 GB free
Dropbox Plus
2 TB for € 119.88 per year (or € 11.99 per month)
Dropbox Professional
3 TB for € 199 per year (or € 19.99 per month)
Website
www.dropbox.com
- Pros
- Broad support platforms
- Relatively cheap if you need a lot of extra storage space
- Negatives
- Little free storage
With all cloud services you can share folders or photos with others
Adobe Creative Cloud
You already know Adobe from Photoshop and Lightroom. Part of the subscription structure is an amount of online storage space. By placing photos here, you can edit them on a device of your choice, whereby the edits are synchronized in addition to the images. In this way you can already start picking photos during a lost hour and edit them on, for example, a tablet or laptop, after which you continue where you left off at home.
This storage space is therefore specifically intended for image material and synchronization of operations, and not like other cloud services for synchronizing documents and all those other types of files. Adobe encourages you to place as many photos as possible in the cloud. But it is wiser not to put your only version there, and to always keep a version locally (in addition to your normal backups on external disks, for example).
Adobe Creative Cloud
Some prices and options
(Free of charge)
Photography membership 20 GB
€ 12.09 per month (20 GB storage)
Photography membership 1 TB
€ 24.19 per month (1 TB storage)
Lightroom membership
€ 12.09 per month (1 TB storage)
Upgrade a membership from 20 GB to 1 TB or increase your total storage space to 2, 5 or 10 TB: from € 12.09 per month per TB.
Website
www.adobe.com/nl/creativecloud
- Pros
- Strong integration with Adobe software
- Synchronization of files and operations
- Negatives
- No free storage
- Specifically intended for visual material
- Storage space not available separately
Apple iCloud
Apple iCloud is especially a logical choice if you work alone or mainly with Apple equipment. With a Mac, iPhone and iPad you can make optimal use of the ecosystem. If you have little with Apple, then it is a less logical choice, because it is a rather closed ecosystem.
You can use iCloud by default as soon as you start using an Apple device and create an account (Apple ID). In addition, you can always access the storage via the web interface. Fortunately, your PC is not completely out of the boat because of the program iCloud for Windows to install, you can also exchange photos with a Windows computer. It is somewhat laborious to exchange photos via something like a PC, but luckily Apple describes the process for the various platforms here.
Apple iCloud
Some prices and options
5 GB free
50 GB: € 0.99 per month
200 GB: € 2.99 per month
2 TB: € 9.99 per month
Website
www.icloud.com
- Pros
- Seamless integration Apple ecosystem
- Logical choice if you use Apple equipment
- Negatives
- No logical choice without Apple equipment
- Closed ecosystem
Box.com
Initially, only the more expensive business subscriptions are shown on the website, so switch to the Individual subscriptions tab yourself. During registration, in addition to a name and e-mail address, a telephone number is also requested. This is a required field, but it is not checked for validity, if you would rather not immediately disclose it if you just want to test the service.
Box.com also has a free app for smartphone and tablet (iOS and Android), so you can access the online storage from anywhere. The client for your PC is a bit hidden. Click on your name on the website at the top right and choose Apps. The program you need is called Box Sync for Windows. We saw no previews of raw files via the web interface and in the app. In any case, there is no option in the app to automatically upload new images in the free version.
Box.com
Some prices and options
10 GB free
Personal Pro
€ 9 per month (100 GB)
Various subscriptions for teams / business use
Website
www.box.com
- Pros
- Ample amount of free storage
- Broad platform support
- Negatives
- No raw preview in web interface
- Few upgrade options for private individuals
Mega
When creating your account, pay attention to which password you are using. Because there is no way to figure it out, should you ever forget it. This is intentionally done as a safety measure. You will be offered a recovery key that will give you access to your photos (but not a new password). Keep that key in a safe place, because this is of course the weakest link.
Synchronization is again via a special user folder. In addition, you can additionally designate one or more local directories that are continuously synchronized with your online storage. So if you wish you can keep your entire photo collection continuously up-to-date in the cloud. The already large amount of free storage can be expanded immediately after registration by installing the synchronization program on your computer and the app on your smartphone or tablet. Unfortunately, the data traffic that you can use every month is limited.
Mega
Some prices and options
50 GB free
Pro Lite
€ 4.99 per month (200 GB storage, 1 TB transfer)
Pro I
€ 9.99 per month (1 TB storage, 2 TB transfer)
Pro II
€ 19.99 per month (4 TB storage, 8 TB transfer)
Pro III
€ 29.99 per month (8 TB storage, 16 TB transfer)
Website
https://mega.nz
- Pros
- Ample amount of free storage
- Focus on safety storage
- Many storage options
- Continuous synchronization of local folders possible
- Negatives
- Don’t forget your password (and save the recovery key)
- Monthly data traffic limited
TransIP Stack
Your online disk space is called a stack by this provider. You can easily access the stack via the browser, as a local user folder on your computer from, for example, Windows Explorer by installing the Stack software (this is also available for Mac and Linux), or via an app on your mobile iOS– or Android-device. In addition, you can link a stack as a network drive, so that you can access it via a genuine Windows drive letter and it appears to be an extra drive on your computer. It is possible to designate local folders yourself that must be constantly synchronized with your online stack. Handy to have an updated external copy continuously.
TransIP Stack
Some prices and options
(Free of charge)
250 GB: € 2.50 per month (excl. VAT)
2 TB: € 10 per month (excl. VAT)
10 TB: € 50 per month (excl. VAT)
Website
www.transip.nl/stack
- Pros
- Storage in the Netherlands
- Continuous synchronization of local folders possible
- Negatives
- No more free storage available
It is important that you first identify how much data is involved
Conclusion
If you want to make a limited set of photos available online, then you often have enough free storage space. For example, Dropbox, if you already use it to exchange files. Or Microsoft OneDrive because of the Office 365 subscription that you have taken out and which comes with a lot of storage as standard, so that you can also store larger collections. Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud in particular are a logical choice if you already use services or equipment from these suppliers. While Adobe Creative Cloud is very interesting because you get access to photo editing software and online storage via a subscription and even your edits are synchronized.
To place large amounts of photos online (perhaps even your entire photo collection), to continuously synchronize local folders or to keep extra backups outside the door, it is important that you first identify how much data is involved. You can then search for a suitable provider. Also check if there are other types of files that you would like to have available online, such as documents. Possibly it will work out cheaper if you place everything with one provider.
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